LONG BLOG
Persona Series Run Through
when I really love a series and a new game is announced I play through the rest of the games as a kind of set up for the new game. Recently 4 persona games were announced: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Persona Q: Shadow of the labyrinth, Persona 4 Dancing All Night, and finally the much awaited Persona 5. I when I do a run though, play games in the order that they take place in the story, or as close as I can get it (thanks Persona Q). So here is a short review of all the games in the current Persona series.
Persona (PSP)
Not that big of a fan of this one. I've completed everything worth doing, got all the movies beat the secret boss and got the hidden persona. I am now the proud owner of a save right by the final boss. It suffers from feeling all of its age, there are very few modern conveniences at all. The story isn't bad though.
Persona 2 Innocent Sin (PSP)
This game is actually pretty solid. I've beaten the game twice to get all the movies, I'm now working on a get everything play through. The story totally jump the shark only for it to be fixed at the last minute. If you've played a late Play Station era JRPG you have a good idea what to expect.
Persona 2 Eternal Punishment (PS3 Classic)
This game basically undoes the shark jumping fix from the last one. So yeah the story kinda goes down the tubes. I beat the game once. Since we never got the remake this game feels its age hard, though not as bad as the first one. No streamlining at all. Feels like an unpolished PS era JRPG.
Persona 3 Portable (PSP)
This game is fantastic. Everything from the story to the pacing between the dating sim and dungeon crawling is masterfully executed. You feel connected to all the characters. Although some people swear by the FES edition I like the portable experience better. I beat the game on both the male and female route, beat both secret bosses and have collected everything.
Persona Q: Shadows of the Labyrinth (3DS)
This is a game for fans of persona 3 and 4. foreknowledge of the series is basically required, unless you are into etrian odyssey I suppose. I played through the Persona 3 side, I have fought but not defeated the secret boss. The story is exactly what you expect it to be as a game for fans, its effectively a bonus round for hanging out with all of your favorite characters from 3 and 4.
Catherine (PS3)
Although not a persona game Vincent does show up in persona 3 portable. Great game. Story does sort of cops out at the end but you get to watch someone go through very real emotional turmoil. Game play is like nothing else. Gold ranked every stage, completed 3 endings.
Persona 3 FES (The Answer) (PS2)
I include this separately as in japan you could buy it on its own disk. It effectively finishes the story of Persona 3. I beat this one. this game is brutal. Its very very easy to get burnt out on the combat in this game. There are no dating sim elements. The story is solid with emotional ups and down. but the dungeons do seem overlong likely attempting to up the hour count.
Persona 4 Golden (PSV)
This game delivers what it promises, it is gold. Though I like 3 better this game is superb. Finished the game twice once with the true ending and with the accomplice ending. The story is well paced though at a certain point the games rhythm becomes inadvertently predictable. All the characters are memorable. Coming back to this game after years felt like a home coming.
Persona 4 Arena (PS3)
something I love about the persona series is that they expanded beyond RPGs. This game feels great, its a game I can teach someone to play in 15 mins and they play better then other fighting games. I have beaten story mode and fought my way up to score attack round 7 and finished 230 odd challenges. I'm not a fan of how they did the story progression but the actual story content is well done.
Persona 4 Arena the Ultimax (PS3)
Bigger and better then the first. Unfortunately the story doesn't hold up to the previous one. I have 100% all three stories. Game play wise it is a superior version though the inputs seem much much tighter. They fixed story mode progression too! I realy would love to seem more arena games in the future.
Persona 4 Dancing All Night (PSV)
This game is ridiculous. I was quite apprehensive of it at first but it was allot of fun. They were able to grow the characters too. There are a few nit picks with the story but all in all the game felt like a book end to the Persona 4 cast. Its a great way to say good bye to them all. I got the Platinum trophy on this game... in a week and a half...
Over all the persona series remains one of my favorites. You want to play them after reading this life changing article? Start with 3 if you like darker stories 4 if you like lighter stories. If you have already played these games pick up an Arena game and invite some friends over to try it out. Didn't like the dating sim aspect? Play through P2 though you will miss some references to P1. Anyways hope you liked the read. In another few year I may do this whole thing over again. Likely when they decide to finally localize Shin Megami Tensei If... (the precursor to persona 1)
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